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I know at the time of the trade that Strop and Arrieta were struggling but after Feldman signed with the Astros today it is a real loss for the Orioles. I would really like to know what Duquette offered Feldman or if he made an offer at all. It's clear it was less and probably a lot less than the Astros signed him for (3 years $30 million). I mean after all it is the Astros and they have no chance of winning anything anytime soon.

I took the time to look at Pedro Strop and Jake Arrieta's stats with the Cubs as well as Feldman's for the Orioles. It's clear this was a bad trade for the Orioles. Strop and Arrieta had decent numbers for the Cubs and Feldman was as he always has been and that's right around .500.

Way too much given for a rental. The Orioles made a dumb move for a rental. I had hoped Feldman would be retained as he could supply real innings.

It's done, it's over. There are no other SP free agents worth good money. International market, rule v draft or cast offs with options are likely where the team looks. Finding a gem will be tough. Lastly Gausman being rotation ready in the spring seems far fetched.

As much as I hate to say it, the team also needs depth at SP, do we look at replacement players?

Old Sneakers wrote:Way too much given for a rental. The Orioles made a dumb move for a rental. I had hoped Feldman would be retained as he could supply real innings.

It's done, it's over. There are no other SP free agents worth good money. International market, rule v draft or cast offs with options are likely where the team looks. Finding a gem will be tough. Lastly Gausman being rotation ready in the spring seems far fetched.

As much as I hate to say it, the team also needs depth at SP, do we look at replacement players?

It's the Orioles way. Try to do everything in free agency on the cheap side. Here's another example of a low ball offer. I might be wrong but then again I may be right that the Orioles low-balled Feldman.

After all that I am not or ever was a believer in Feldman but he does eat innings and that's something the Orioles desperately need.

The thing is, this is the best transaction Mr. Duquette made out of all his mid-season acquisitions. At the time of the deal;

Chicago Obtained;

1. Jake Arrieta- a 27 year old who couldn't throw strikes, couldn't retire AAA hitters effectively, and who never improved throughout his four years with the Orioles. In fact, he got worse every year he was in the majors. It was all but assured he was never going to succeed in Baltimore. He was no longer a prospect, he was simply a "had-been/bust" for the Orioles, so it was time to stop treating him like one.

2. Pedro Strop- a 28 year old reliever who couldn't throw strikes, couldn't get major league hitters out period for the last year, and was out of options in the middle of a pennant race.

Baltimore Obtained;

1. Scott Feldman- an above-average starter Baltimore had control of for half the season. At the end of the season, the team had the increased possibility to re-sign him or the ability to extend him a qualifying offer(if he pitched a little bit better he might have) in order to retain or pick up a draft pick.

2. Steve Clevenger- a 27 year old left handed hitting catcher who can catch and has shown he can hit at AAA. He is under team control for five more years. At this point, he is slated to be the left-handed part of the DH situation. At the very least, he is a serviceable back-up catcher to Matt Wieters IMO.

The Orioles were in the middle of a playoff chase, and they needed rotation stabilization. Scott Feldman looked to be the right guy at the time, and turned out to be pretty good for Baltimore in fifteen starts. Mr. Duquette didn't re-sign Feldman, but the trade isn't over. Clevenger will most likely provide positive value over the next few years.

Just because a trade didn't work out, doesn't mean it wasn't the right trade at the right time. The objective of mid-season trades from the buyer's perspective is to acquire talent for the present at the expense of talent for the future(prospects). Mr. Duquette was able to avoid giving up prospects. Most of a prospect's value comes from;(1) the benefit of multiple cost-controlled years they provide(2) the benefit of using prospects in leverage in trade(3) the benefit of saving money on the prospect's position and placing that money elsewhere on the team

Arrieta and Strop don't really apply to these benefits anymore. They are about to start getting expensive to control, and that is if they are even succeeding in the majors in the first place.

Johnson and Roberts are now off the books. Matusz is looking nearly expendable with his salary/role. This time next year, Markakis gets a $2mill buyout. The payroll is beginning to look like it has room.

My guess is that either Weiters or Davis gets an extension. Davis being the more likely of the two to get a 3-4 year deal. I like Davis, he's done everything we could have asked for and more. But, this team needs Starting Pitching, a lead off hitter and now a closer. Why do I get the feeling it's going to walk away with mediocrity in each of those areas. Landing mediocre results. Then Davis and Weiters both end up elsewhere?

Old Sneakers wrote:Way too much given for a rental. The Orioles made a dumb move for a rental. I had hoped Feldman would be retained as he could supply real innings.

It's done, it's over. There are no other SP free agents worth good money. International market, rule v draft or cast offs with options are likely where the team looks. Finding a gem will be tough. Lastly Gausman being rotation ready in the spring seems far fetched.

As much as I hate to say it, the team also needs depth at SP, do we look at replacement players?

Way too much? Both players were DFA candidates and the Orioles got something out of Feldman when they fancied themselves playoff contenders.

There are a few targets left out there (Burnett, Arroyo, Jimenez, R. Hernandez) and I really don't know what to expect from the Orioles moving forward right now, it's a weird limbo. On the one hand, trading Johnson and not offering deals to McLouth and Feldman just make them seem extremely cheap. On the other hand, freeing up the money and not re-signing those two allows for bigger deals to be made (not exactly the Orioles character).

I am not going to judge based upon past seasons, this team is different, the people running it are different, and the situation is different. All that being said, if the Orioles don't make significant moves the fan base, including myself, will have every right to be furious about it.

Arrieta is still reasonably young and does not have a huge amount of wear and tear on his arm. I understand he wasn't going to work out in Baltimore. But I really believe he's going to end up with a nice substantial MLB career. A few months of Feldman doesn't seem like enough.

If the Orioles do not land Jimenez, this off season will be a failure as far as I am concerned. Starting pitching is by far the biggest need of this team. Jimenez is the youngest player available and he has the best stuff of whats out there. In this inflated market, I would think it would take 3-4 years and 36-48 million to aquire him. That may sound like alot but I say the time is now to make that push. I also would like to see Axford brought in on a 1-2 year deal at no more than $2-3 million per. Thats about what he is worth right now. He looked awesome in October for the Cards. I think he makes it all the way back.

If Dan duquette and Angelos want to go the cheap road, I could make myself available every fifth day from April-September and I will only ask for $500,000.....

The Feldman move will be just fine for both teams. Arrieta and Strop will never have sustained success in the big leagues, their window is closing as far as their talent and mechanics matching up.

I wasn't that crazy about Feldman and don't particularly mind that the Orioles didn't re-sign him.But what rankles me is the fact that I don't think the money they saved on him w/b used elsewhere to build the team.I w/be used to pay the increased salaries of people like Chris Davis or wind up in Angelos' pocket.